La Pequeña Colombia
The name promises Colombia, but the signature list here runs burgers, fries, and milkshakes rather than bandeja paisa or arepas. It fits a casual American lunch or dinner order, priced low and built for a quick counter stop, but nothing in the record points to Colombian cooking. Diners hunting the region's Colombian canon should look elsewhere on this list.
What to orderBurgerFriesMilkshake Call DirectionsFull review & visiting detailsRead the full review & visiting details
Colombian counter with an American side door
A Colombian-style burger built for the same counter that turns out tostones and platters, worth ordering alongside the rest of the menu rather than settling for it alone.
The fries round out the burger order and are the plain, reliable side to pair with a Colombian plate here.
The milkshake closes the counter meal out with something cold and sweet after a plate built around Colombian staples.
La Pequena Colombia lists a burger, fries, and a milkshake alongside its Colombian menu, and that pairing tells most of the story. This is a counter built for a neighborhood that wants tostones de carne y pollo, the fried green plantain stacked with shredded beef or chicken, on the same order as a griddled burger for the table member who wants something plainer. Service reads as quick, the kind of counter where orders move and tables turn without much wait, which fits a room built for casual lunch and dinner rather than a sit-down occasion. The tostones appear to be the dish that pulls people in the door, plantain doing the work a bun would do elsewhere, and the fact that it shares a menu with fries and a milkshake says this kitchen is not trying to draw a line between Colombian home cooking and the American short-order plate.
That combination is common across Tampa's Colombian and Latin American counters, which often run a hybrid menu to serve both homesick regulars and neighbors who wander in without much frame of reference. The restaurant sits next to LCPX cafe, suggesting a small cluster of related counters rather than an isolated storefront, and the connection matters for anyone building a stop that covers both a meal and a coffee. Pricing lands in the moderate range, consistent with a counter serving plantain, beef, and chicken plates alongside diner-style sides rather than a full-service Colombian restaurant with table service and a wine list. The staff gets credited for being attentive despite the pace, which matters in a counter format where the person taking the order is often the only face a customer sees.
This is not the deviled crab counter, the Cuban sandwich window, or the cafeteria tradition that defines Ybor and West Tampa. It is Colombian food finding its own counter format in Tampa, plainly, without dressing itself up as anything else, serving a burger and a tostada with the same straightforward hand.
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Tampa, FL, 33604
Order the tostones de carne y pollo first and treat the burger and fries as the backup plate for anyone at the table who wants something plainer. The counter moves fast, so decide before reaching the register.
